EU officials are once again looking to hold social platforms accountable for the letter of the law in their new Digital Services Act (DSA) after official requests were both sent to Meta and TikTok to inform them of how they are tackling the rising mis- and disinformation surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict.

There have been different reports showing that the platforms of social media are now being used to increase the spread of propaganda; indeed, Hamas militants have also used the social media accounts of both hostages and the dead in posting horrific content.

European Union officials, on more stringent DSA rules, would like to make sure that the major online service providers are doing what they can to stop it to prevent the weaponization of social apps and damaging exposure to European users.

According to BBC, as reported:
"In the past, Meta and TikTok were given 24 hours to respond to concerns by the bloc. That demand was not legally binding. But this one is. The two companies have a week to respond. If they are not satisfied with that, the EU may start a formal investigation. Under its new rules for technology, that's one of the things the bloc can do."

It can culminate with penalties that equate to 6% of each platform's global revenue.

The war between Israel and Hamas is more online than ever. Militant forces well know the influence that can be exerted through social platforms in influencing opinion and opposition morale in the conflict. As such, every platform needs to be as proactive as possible in countering threats. However, with so many possible attack vectors in this respect, it is very difficult, and labor-intensive, to mitigate each concern.

X, which also falls under an EU directive to detail its efforts, may face an even stiffer test in this regard, as it has recently cut staff, forcing the platform to rely more on crowd-source fact-checks, through Community Notes.

But the Community Notes process, one that calls for consensus among contributors, is likely too little, too late for what EU law demands, and Meta and TikTok each have far more employees toiling away to tackle every aspect, which might save their bacon.

We'll soon see, with each service having more to share with EU regulators in the week ahead.